Dow Epoxy Systems Starts Local Manufacture of Formulations for Wind Energy in China and South Korea

Dow Epoxy Systems (DES) announced today that it has established an on-the-ground manufacturing facility in China by utilizing a state-of-the-art site from another Dow business. In addition, DES will also start producing blends in a Dow Epoxy site in South Korea, putting DES in a uniquely competitive position to supply and support its customers in China and the Asia Pacific region.

With plants strategically located in Brazil, US, Europe, China and South Korea, DES is now capable of effectively supplying customers anywhere in the world with the highest level of service.

“Establishing a local asset in China underscores our commitment to customers in the country and is a major step forward in realizing our aggressive growth aspirations in Asia Pacific,” said Pepe Carnevale, global business director, Dow Epoxy Systems.

Located in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei province, the manufacturing facility is strategically located at the heart of China to service customers in both the coastal as well as inner regions of the country. Meanwhile, the DES site in Gumi is also strategically located in South Korea to support and service customers in North Asia.

The manufacturing site in Wuhan is well equipped to provide customers with differentiated, solution-based products with multiple reactors which can handle also very high viscosity formulations. The asset will be used for the multiple market segments that DES is targeting, in particular composites, wind and infrastructure.

“Coupled with our world class R&D capability in Shanghai, our facilities in Wuhan and Gumi will differentiate - and accelerate - our already successful growth in China and the Asia Pacific region, particularly in two key target markets - wind energy and infrastructure. What sets us apart from competition is our on-the-ground capability to provide customized solutions to our customers,” he said.

According to the Chinese Wind Energy Association (CWEA), the Chinese wind energy market doubled in size in 2008 compared to 2007, reaching over 12 GW of total installed capacity. In 2009, new installed capacity is expected to nearly double again. At this rate, China would be well on its way to overtake Germany and Spain to become world number two in terms of total wind power capacity in 2010.

South Korea has set ambitious growth for the establishment of renewable energies. The South Korean government has reportedly placed orders to build ten new indigenously-made wind power generators to help reduce the country’s reliance on imports in the renewable energy sector. Its Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the 2-to-3 MW generators, which are expected to compete commercially with market-dominating foreign products, will be built on land owned by three state-run thermal power plants by 2010.

Meanwhile, investments in rural infrastructure and infrastructural projects such as highways and railways have been an integral part of the Chinese government’s US$586 billion stimulus package, announced in November last year, in a bid to revitalize the country’s slowing economy amid the global financial downturn.

“Our global presence translates into strong local support, and our integrated supply chain is our distinct competitive advantage,” added Carnevale. “With the manufacturing sites in Asia Pacific and the various facilities in other parts of the world, we now have in place an unmatched global supply network that can meet our customers’ needs for fast supply and high volumes of qualified materials - helping them keep pace and take advantage of growth opportunities.”